Successful re-use of the transplanted heart.

The case of re-use of a previously transplanted heart after brain death of the first recipient is reported. The second recipient was a 60-year-old man who suffered end-stage ischemic heart disease. The operative and postoperative course was uneventful, with the exception of secondary diabetes. The patient is post-transplantation by more than 10 months and is now in New York Heart Association functional class I. This case confirms the possibility of using this procedure, particularly in the situation when there is a shortage of organ donors.